Google is making it easier to develop Android apps on a Chromebook

At I/O last 12 months, Google announced it changed into including Linux guide to Chrome OS, a move that made it plenty less complicated for internet and Android developers to apply Chromebooks. One year later, the agency says that extra than half of all Chromebooks now paintings with Linux and all new gadgets launched this 12 months will aid Linux as well. And these days, Google has a handful of developer-targeted updates that’ll make constructing Android apps on Chrome OS an awesome bit less complicated.

For starters, Google’s making it loads less difficult to put in the Android Studio improvement surroundings on a Chromebook. Last year’s Linux help made it viable to do, but it wasn’t exactly the smoothest technique. Now, even though, Google says it will likely be a one-click on set up. The organization additionally delivered relaxed USB support for Android telephones and Chromebooks, this means that builders can build, debug and push app builds to a smartphone the use of Google’s “developer-endorsed” Chrome OS gadgets.

Google is also tying Chrome OS and Linux collectively thru the document manager. Users might be able to switch and circulate documents between Google Drive, nearby Chrome OS storage and Linux the usage of the default files app. The business enterprise additionally improved port forwarding, something that Google says will permit developers to run an internet server via Linux even as debugging at the same time.

These aren’t groundbreaking, primary changes — however, they need to hopefully make it simpler for developers to do their work on Chrome OS. And that might have a secondary advantage of getting Android devs to consider large monitors whilst constructing their apps. Chromebooks were capable of run Android apps for years now, however, the enjoy is frequently sub-par, definitely due to the fact builders do not have big shows in mind while constructing those apps. It’s the same hassle that plagued Android capsules for years, and one that Google nevertheless hasn’t pretty been able to solve.

But there’s a variety of momentum behind Chromebooks. Google says that inside the ultimate 12 months, the wide variety of monthly lively Chrome OS customers who enabled Android apps on their device grew with the aid of 250 percentage. The corporation additionally mentioned NPD statistics announcing that 21 percent of all laptops bought inside the US were Chromebooks, each stats that show there is a few capability benefits to Android builders making their apps paintings higher on the one’s gadgets.

Given that I/O is Google’s big annual pitch for builders, it makes feel that the corporation is making an attempt to make it simpler to expand Android apps on Chrome OS — and optimistically, the ones developers will take bigger displays into consideration as they do it.